Products for mom and baby

Baby balms and breastfeeding shirts

Chicago Parent Staff

9/2/09 9:51 AM

Short stuff: Product testBadger Diaper Cream, $14, Baby Balm, $12, and Baby Oil, $15; www.badgerbalm.com.Mom: C+If you think Food Network guru Rachael Ray has the market cornered on extra virgin olive oil, think again. EVOO is the main ingredient in these baby products from the W.S. Badger Company, none of which veer very far from their origins despite efforts to fancify the recipes with ingredients like Organic Essential Oil of Roman Chamomile and Natural Beeswax. All the products have a slick, slightly greasy feel and a lingering fragrance that didn’t so much calm my baby’s sensitive skin as it made me hungry for a batch of pesto. The packaging—featuring sweet, cartoony drawings of mom and baby badger—almost makes it all worthwhile.Laura Putre

All-in-One T-shirt and Nursing Bra, Top Mommy Design Inc., $39.80-$49.80; www.topmommy.com.Mom: BI liked the idea of this top better than I liked myself in it. A built-in nursing bra hides beneath the stylish long-sleeve top with discreet zippers on either side. Unzip a side, pull down the "flap," and you can breastfeed with a minimum of hassle. I found breastfeeding easier with this shirt than with a nursing bra under a regular T-shirt. But I wouldn’t wear it out in public because it didn’t provide enough support for my gravity-challenged thirtysomething bosoms. But hey, if you’re 22, it’ll probably look great. Laura Putre